1. Field
Methods and apparatuses consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a backlight apparatus and a display apparatus including the same, and more particularly, to a backlight apparatus which is capable of providing local dimming and a display apparatus including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of information processing technology, techniques to display information have been rapidly developed. Due to the development of display technology, consumer demand for cathode-ray tube (CRT) displays is noticeably reduced, whereas consumer demand for flat panel displays such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) is greatly increased.
An LCD transmits light generated by a light source of a rear surface to a panel of a front surface, using a change in permeability of a liquid crystal according to voltage applied to the panel, thereby providing an image for a user. That is, since the LCD is unable to emit light by itself, it requires a backlight as a light source.
In particular, considering that light emitting diodes (LEDs) are environment-friendly and have merits of a high speed response time of several nano seconds and long lifespan, the LEDs are increasingly employed as a light source for a backlight of an LCD panel.
However, since the light sources for the backlight are distributed over the LCD panel, an improved driving circuit technique to prevent brightness imbalance caused by the distribution of light sources is required. Some techniques to prevent the brightness imbalance require many components such as plural linear regulators or boost converters and thus may result in an ineffective system configuration. Furthermore, with such increased number of components, the space occupied by the driving circuitry increases, making it more difficult to achieve lightness and slimness of the LCD backlight. Also, in a backlight apparatus to solve the above problems, there is a problem that it is difficult to realize local dimming.
Therefore, there is a need for a method to solve the problems of brightness imbalance, which is caused by distribution of light sources, and difficulty in achieving lightness and slimness of an LCD panel, and also to provide local dimming.